


Help From a Stranger

by skim_milkk



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adorable Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV), Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Original Character(s), Planet Tatooine (Star Wars), Season/Series 02, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27440299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skim_milkk/pseuds/skim_milkk
Summary: The Mandalorian's quest to find the Child's species' is put on hold when he gets injured by a group of people on Tatooine who want his armor. However, someone not-expected helps him and the Child.
Kudos: 25





	Help From a Stranger

Silence voided the area around Mando and The Child. These moments of peace and quiet were nice in between the violent chaos that was apparent in Din’s almost daily life. Nothing had to be said between the two, just enjoying the other’s company, the only sound being the clicks of Din’s boots and the occasional coo from the kid. Tatooine was a rough planet to be on. Tusken Raiders, Jawas, slaves, criminals, and many other people lived here, and if you weren’t careful or didn’t know much about the planet, you could easily be involved in Tatooine’s latest crime scene. It didn’t surprise Mando that many of his jobs were from the planet. However, Din hasn’t taken the time to look at the beauty of the planet. The sand turned a fierce orange as the Twin Suns set over the dunes of sand.  
Din was on his way to meet with a group of people about his latest quest; returning The Child back to his own kind. He was trying to find where another Mandalorian was, seeing as the last covert got raided by Imperial Stormtroopers, many of the other Mandalorians dying. He hoped at least a few of them relocated. Where they might have relocated was what Din was trying to find out. After talking to Peli, Din learned that someone in the town of Mos Pelgo may know where a Mandalorian was.  
Din looked down at the baby in his small floating carriage. He had never seen another that looked liked him, and Din had encountered many species as a bounty hunter working in the Outer Rim. Big long ears, a wrinkly face and forehead, tiny grey hairs, big brown eyes, three fingers with claws, and being unbelievably small for someone said to be fifty. He was one of a kind for sure. Din hoped he would be able to fulfill his quest. The Child needed to be with his own kind, where he could adopt the language and culture of his own species. He wondered if all of his kind had the special power that the baby possessed. 

Din arrived in Mos Pelgo late into the night. Despite it being a small town, it was lively. The few bars that were in the town had lights illuminating it from the inside, and Din heard music and laughter from bars and many of the houses. He continued walking, trying to find the arena the man named Gor Koresh told Din to meet him in.  
“Hey, Mando!” He turned towards the voice, and saw a group of men hanging out by a fence across the road. The streets were dimly lit with lamps, and from the shadows came a group of about seven intimidating men. One of them stepped forward, extending his hand for Din to shake. “I’m Gor Koresh; you’re just the man I was looking for,” He smiled, then turned his head to look past Mando’s shoulder to look at the kid.  
“You told me you knew the whereabouts of another Mandalorian,” Din said, getting straight to the point. The group made him uneasy, especially the others behind Koresh that kept looking him up and down.  
“I do, and I’m prepared to give you that information, Mando,” Koresh said smoothly. “Under one condition. You like gambling?” He asked.  
“I avoid it if I can. I don’t like to decide my fate by chance,” He said, keeping his voice even and unwavering.  
“Oh, come on. We go into that arena,” He pointed towards the brightly lit and loud arena, “We each bet on the competitors. You win, I’ll tell you about the other Mandalorian. I win, and I get your rare, valuable Beskar armor,” He smiled, reaching out to touch Din’s shoulder plate, but Din stepped back before he could. Of course there had to be a catch.  
“I don’t think so,” Din said, slowly moving his hand to his blaster.  
“Really? Are you sure I can’t persuade you?” Koresh tried again, but once again wasn’t convinced. “Oh, what shame,” Suddenly, someone grabbed Mando from behind, restraining his arms and picking him up. Din grunted, trying to swerve his body to kick the kid’s carriage away. He was able to kick it, but the carriage didn’t go very far. Another guy came up to Mando and grabbed his blaster out of its holder. Din kicked his captor in the shin, and they loosened up just enough for Din to elbow him in the chest and push away. He immediately spun around and was met with a punch to his face. Din fell back into another guy, who Din flipped onto his back by sliding his feet out from underneath him. Din was about to activate his whispering birds to end all of it, when he got shot in the arm, right in between his pieces of armor. Din yelled out in pain, dropping to the ground and clutching his arm. His vision was blurred when he felt his back being kicked hard, but he had just enough strength to pull out his knife and stab it into somebody’s leg, hearing them scream out in pain. He heard a “Hey!” from what sounded like Gor Koresh, before he passed out, clutching his arm. 

**********

The next time Din woke up just made him want to pass out again. There was a searing pain in his arm, the one that got shot. There was also a dull pain in his back and his head, as well as his wrist, though he was sure the headache was from the aftermath of being shot and kicked and punched. Unless they beat him up some more after Din passed out. Without opening his eyes, worried he might vomit if he did so, Din tried to gain information concerning his whereabouts. He heard feet shuffling around, along with the sound of objects clattering. It only sounded like one person was there with him, but Din learned the hard way how quiet people could be. He guessed whoever was there with him was cooking something, as he smelled something very good. He had smelled it before all over Tatooine; it must be a famous dish there.  
Din dared open his eyes. His vision was still hazy, and the soft light that came into the room hurt his eyes and made him nauseous. He groaned, closing his eyes again. However, he became alert again when he heard a gasp, then some clattering, and the sound of a gun clicking. Din, despite it being the last thing he wanted to do, opened his eyes and reached with his left hand, seeing as his right arm was injured, and reached over his aching body for his blaster. He was relieved to find his blaster had returned to him. The last time he saw it it was in the hands of another man, being used to shoot him.  
He cocked his gun and held it up and his hazy eyes adjusted to the light. He was in a room, a home more specifically. He was sitting against the wall, surrounded by cushions. He looked down and saw he had a baby blue fluffy blanket covering his lap. He sighed, tossing it aside. This was not helping his tough reputation. He then looked up again and saw a girl leaning against the wall next to what looked like a stove. She was holding up a gun pointed at Din. Though Din could see a hint of fear in her eyes, the gun remained pointed at him, her eyes looking at him intensely. She was young, much younger than Din, perhaps a teenager.  
“My name is Karris Naime. You are on the planet of Tatooine, in my house a little ways from the town Mos Pelgo you were previously in. I found you laying on the ground and unconscious while I was collecting water, so I brought you back to my house. You are injured; you have blood stains on your clothes, but I didn’t want to cut any of your clothing or take off your helmet. I’ve heard of your kind. A Mandalorian, correct?” Din nodded slightly.  
“Yes, and you don’t take off your helmet.” Din nodded again, surprised by the knowledge the girl had about Mandalorians.  
“There was also a. . .green companion next to you. I wasn’t sure if it was yours but it seemed worried so I brought it back too. Please lower your blaster, because if you threaten me or my sister in this home I will not hesitate to shoot you. I can help you with your wounds so I suggest you take up this offer,” She explained, voice unwavering. It sounded rehearsed, and Din figured she had been practicing the speech as he lay unconscious. In any other situation Din would have made her drop the blaster at the same time as him. However, seeing as this was her home and Din was injured, she had the upper hand. Besides, he figured she would do no harm unless he initiated it. 

Din slid his blaster back into its sling. He attempted to sit up more, and groaned when a shooting pain went from his wrist to his shoulder.  
“You may have broken your wrist,” Karris said, putting her gun in her apron and grabbing what looked like a first aid kit. “I also noticed blood coming from your arm and your waist. I can give you some bandages to go wrap those properly if you’d like.” She said, coming to sit next to him.  
“Thank you. I don’t think my wrist is broken. I’ve broken it before, and it felt different than this. Perhaps I’ve fractured it, or maybe strained it,” Din said, taking his glove off as well as the pieces of armor on his wrists. Just as he was setting it on the ground, he heard footsteps, and by reflex Din pulled out his blaster and it pointed it at the unknown person. Again, there was a girl. Only, this one was much younger than Karris. She had to be about six-years-old. She flinched, and stepped back behind a curtain. There was something in her arms as well, but Din couldn’t make it out.  
“Hey!” Karris said, looking at him angrily as she drew out her blaster again. “I told you not to point your blaster at my sister! Put it down right now!” She said in a raised voice. Again, Din slowly lowered it, looking at the frightened little girl. Karris stared at him for another few seconds before she stood up and walked over to the little girl, kneeling down in front of her.  
Karris spoke softly to her, and then stood up again and took her hand, walking closer again.  
“This is Amara. She’s been playing with your green companion while you were knocked out.” Karris told him, and the little girl set down the bundle and unwrapped the blanket. 

His child looked at him, and his face lit up when he saw Din was awake, and more importantly, alive. He squealed and ran towards Din, crashing into his stomach. Din groaned, gently pushing the kid off of him.  
“Careful, kid, I’m injured.” Din told him. The baby stared at him, looking him up and down, seeming to understand that his caregiver was injured. He whimpered, but sat down next to Din’s other side and wrapped his tiny arms around Din’s non-injured arm, not leaving his side. Din looked down at him, feeling grateful that the kid seemed to make it out of the situation unharmed. He then remembered the two other people present in the room. Karris had a protective arm wrapped around Amara, and both were watching the scene in silence.  
“If you could help me wrap my wrist, I think I’ll be able to bandage my arm and waist. I don’t believe my legs are injured.” Din explained, remembering he still had to take care of his injuries before Amara had walked in.  
“What about your head?” Karris aske.  
“Good. Hurts a little from being hit and thrown on the ground, but nothing serious.” Din replied, knocking his knuckles on his helmet a few times.  
Karris nodded, sitting next to Din and beginning to unwrap the bandage from the roll after checking to make sure there were no cuts. Amara came up behind her, staring as Karris wrapped his wrist. Din groaned as another sharp pain shot up his arm.  
“Sorry,” Karris winced. 

“Excuse me, are you a real Man-Mandorian?” Amara asked, speaking for the first time. Din smiled a little under his helmet at the mispronunciation.  
“I am,” he replied.  
“Wow,” the girl replied quietly, looking in awe at his beskar.  
“Is that your baby?” she asked again after a minute or so.  
“Yes,”  
“What’s his name?” Din sighed. He hated talking about the kid with other people, because they would always ask for his name. Din still hadn’t given him one despite it being a couple months since the kid had become his and had been given the quest to return him to his own kind.  
“He doesn’t have one,” Din said, deciding to bite the bullet. Amara looked shocked.  
“What? He doesn’t have a name? But-but, everyone has a name!” The girl said incredulously, trying to wrap her head around this new fact. Karris finished wrapping his wrist.  
“Amara, stop asking questions. It’s none of our business and I’m sure the Mandalorian is tired.” Karris sighed, standing up. She offered a hand to Din, but he gently pushed it away and slowly got up on his own. He had to stop for a second due to the searing pain on his waist, but he took a deep breath and stood up all the way. The kid stood next to him, clutching his boot.  
Karris handed him more bandages for his wound, along with some painkillers and a glass of water. She looked a bit more intimidated by the Mandalorian now, probably due to the fact that the once weak and unconscious man in her home now stood way over her, and he had a lot of weapons on his body.  
“If you go down the hall the bathroom is the first door to the left. There’s also cotton balls and gauze in the cupboard in case you need to clean the wounds.” Karris told him. Din nodded, and headed to the bathroom. The kid did not follow, instead entranced by the crayons and paper Amara had been using at the table. 

Din was happy to finally be alone for a few minutes. He took his helmet off, and it was no surprise to him to see that he looked like shit. He washed his face quickly, trying to get the dirt stains that had been engraved into his skin off. He then went through the tedious task that was to dress down enough to tend the wounds. The one one his waist was small, but was bleeding a lot. The one on his arm was deep, but luckily it didn’t stretch very far across his skin. He cleaned them up as best he could with the resources in the bathroom, and put on some anti-infection cream as well, as painful as it was to touch them. He wrapped the wounds and secured them. Din took a deep breath when he finished, trying to calm down his rapid breathing. Hopefully within a week or so they would heal. He downed the water and painkillers for good measure. 

Din stared at himself in the mirror. It wasn’t often that he really looked at himself in the mirror. There was only a tiny mirror in the Razor Crest, and the only time Din took off his armor really was the shower. He traced his fingers over the many scars that were embedded in his skin. Some big and some small. He had a few burns as well. The scars and marks were very personal to him for a few reasons. One was that very few people saw his skin, so it was a very intimate moment to see. Another was that he knew where most of his scars came from; chasing after bounties, getting in fights, and escaping. However, the ones he wore with pride were the ones he got from protecting the child. For now he could make them out pretty well since they were relatively new, especially the ones from today. However, in time he knew they would blend in like the rest. Those scars meant something different to him than the rest. In his time of being a bounty hunter, Din rarely saved someone as part of his job. Sure, he could save people by catching a dangerous person, but he never knew them personally. His job was more about turning people in, on saving them. It made him feel good to know he was able to save the kid.  
Din looked to the door, and thought about the two girls out there. Where were their parents? Did they even have any? Din didn’t want to pry into business that wasn’t his own, but he did wonder. Being a Foundling himself, he would be willing to help them or help their parents. He owed it to them after all; they did help him and the kid. 

Din put his suit and armor back on before exiting the bathroom. The child cooed when he saw him, holding up the paper he had been drawing on. Din took it and looked at the picture. It wasn’t a drawing of anything specific, not that Din could make out anyway. It was a mix of colors scribbled all along the page.  
“It’s good,” Din said simply, handing it back to the kid. He lowered his big ears and let out a whimper.  
“What?” Din asked, not understanding what was wrong. The kid handed it back to him with hopeful eyes.  
“It’s for you!” Amara piped up, smiling at him.  
Oh. Din nodded and took it again, scooping up the child along with him. 

“I’m making dinner if you wanted to stay.” Karris said, stirring something in a pot. The baby leaned forward, seeming interested in whatever was cooking.  
“That’s very kind, but you’ve done more than enough for me. I need to get back to my ship, I’m behind in my work.” Din explained.  
“Very well,” Karris replied with a nod.  
“I would love to return the favor in some way; you’ve done a lot for me.” He added.  
“I appreciate it, but there’s no need to. My mom always said it is good to help someone in need,” Karris stated. Din nodded, deciding not to pry any further.  
“Okay then. All I can offer is my thanks.”  
“You’re welcome,” Karris smiled. 

Amara said a sad goodbye to the child before they left. Din stopped by some nearby markets quickly to reload on some ammunition and stalk up on food. Food was running low more quickly now that he had the child. Din was able to live on ration bars and go for a while without food. However, the kid was growing and was active and needed more food than that and more frequently. Din loaded everything onto the ship and settled the sleepy child on his lap as he sat in the pilot’s seat.  
“Back to our mission, kid,” Din said, looking down at the kid. He started the ship and took one last look at Tatooine. He hoped those two girls would be alright. No, they would be alright. Karris was strong and brave. He hoped Amara would grow to be just like her. They would be fine, Din reassured himself as the ship lifted off.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me and I couldn't find a way to fit it into Birdie so I just made it its own thing. Also wasn't sure how to end it so sorry if the ending seems abrupt!  
> What did you all think of Chapter 11 of The Mandalorian? I don't want to ruin it for people who haven't seen it but I thought it was great. I know a lot of people didn't like it because it was a side adventure but I love these side stories that tend to be more about character development than the main plot, as character development can be hard to do in action shows or movies. Let me know your thoughts! Plus, I like how much Baby Yoda was in it, and not just because I love Baby Yoda. One thing I didn't like about the first episode of season 2 was the lack of Baby Yoda. In chapter 8 (season 1) we learn that Din is the kid's father until he is of age or is returned to his species. I figured because of that there would be a change or growth in their relationship, so it was a bit disappointing to see a lack of that in episode 1. Very glad they make that more apparent in this new episode!


End file.
